The invention relates to a control system for printing presses including apparatus for implementing the control system.
For the purpose of controlling printing presses, it has already become known heretofore to read job-related data, which have been recorded on mass storage devices, from the mass storage devices and to transmit the data to a control device assigned to a respective printing press. A mass storage device which has gained preference in this connection is a magnetic-tape cassette, on which it is possible to store not only the data of one particular job, but also the data of a multiplicity of printing jobs (collective job cassette).
A heretofore known data-transfer system for presetting actuators on printing presses according to Canadian Patent 1,223,972, includes a data distributor which permits free data traffic between a collective job cartridge or cassette, actuators of the printing press, a keyboard and a display device. The actuators may then, in a respectively necessary manner, be set or adjusted, based upon the data from the collective job cartridge, new data may be recorded and/or the recorded data, the data to be inputted, and the data that has been supplied to the actuators may be displayed.
The heretofore known data-transfer system, however, is assigned to one particular printing press, so that, in printing shops with several printing presses, several data-transfer systems are required and cartridges or cassettes containing data for the respective job have to be taken from storage and transported to the respective data-transfer system.
It is accordingly an object of the invention of the instant application to provide a system, i.e., a method and apparatus for controlling printing presses wherein the transport of data carriers is largely unnecessary and wherein all information required for the processing-of printing jobs is able to be stored in a central location.